{"id":2276,"date":"2025-03-01T11:42:48","date_gmt":"2025-03-01T11:42:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/shakespeare-and-his-sisters\/?page_id=2276"},"modified":"2025-06-02T08:20:43","modified_gmt":"2025-06-02T08:20:43","slug":"edward-iii","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"http:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/shakespeare-and-his-sisters\/edward-iii\/","title":{"rendered":"Edward III"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Poster of Edward III<\/em>, performed at Lancaster Castle in 2023<\/p><\/div>\n

The main critical debate about Edward III<\/em> has been the question of Shakespeare\u2019s authorship. The play was first attributed to Shakespeare in a catalogue of plays from 1656 but it was not included in the first Folio of Shakespeare\u2019s works (1623).<\/p>\n

However, other plays that Shakespeare co-wrote were not included either, and there were practical, financial reasons why it was omitted. In 1760, Edward Capell suggested that Shakespeare\u2019s authorship was \u2018conjecture only, and matter of opinion; and the reader must form one of his [their] own guided by what is now before him [them]\u2019<\/em><\/p>\n

As spectators, the audience is part of this ongoing debate, and must be guided by what is before them in the performance. You might notice strong similarities to Shakespeare\u2019s Henry V<\/em><\/a>; or recognise lines or imagery that occur in Shakespeare\u2019s sonnets and later plays.<\/p>\n

The film of our 2023 performance of Edward III<\/em> by Shakespeare was staged in the Courtyard of Lancaster Castle and is presented below:<\/p>\n\n\n